GUNS IN BARS & RESTAURANTS (Editorial)

The Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)
EDITORIAL
Published Aug 20, 2011 at 3:00 am

Bars & guns: Gun haters lose again

Once again, hysterical predictions of death and mayhem have bitten the dust
after the expansion of concealed carry gun freedom legislation.
When are the anti-gun nuts going to stop trying to curtail Americans’ freedoms
through fearmongering?

The Richmond Times-Dispatch of Richmond, Va., reported on Sunday a finding
that should surprise no one, but it stunned the gun haters.

People carrying concealed weapons into bars and restaurants don’t
suddenly transform into bloodthirsty killers, it turns out.

Virginia legislators last year voted to expand the state’s concealed carry gun law.
License holders would be legally allowed to carry their concealed weapons
into restaurants and bars. It passed over the objections of those who claimed
it would cause shootings to increase. The opposite happened.

“The number of major crimes involving firearms at bars and restaurants
statewide declined 5.2 percent from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011,
compared with the fiscal year before the law went into effect,
according to crime data compiled by Virginia State Police at the newspaper’s
request,” the Times-Dispatch reported.

You mean that the presence of armed, law-abiding citizens reduces crime?
Who would’ve guessed?!

Anybody who has studied gun laws would have, actually. Forty-three states,
including New Hampshire, legally allow concealed guns to be carried
inside establishments that serve alcohol. When was the last time you heard
of a drunk license holder shooting someone at a bar? It’s not a common problem,
but the gun haters don’t care about facts. They will ignore this study
just as they ignore all the others. Thankfully, their long record of failed
predictions has made them a weakened political force in places
where common sense is widespread.

[All emfasis has been added by David.]